The Japanese Doll Festival

The third of March in Japan celebrates Hina Matsuri is a holiday that Russian call girls Holiday or Holiday dolls, and Japanese still Jesi-but sekku (the Celebration of the first day of the snake) or Momo-but sekku (peach blossom Festival). Actually, this holiday is not quite the 3rd of March. Traditionally it was celebrated on the 3rd day of the 3rd moon, and lunar calendar, as we know, not the same as solar. But in modern Japan lunar calendar is no longer used and favorite holiday just moved on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the solar calendar. Hina Matsuri is one of many in Japan Matsuri, seasonal celebrations, which are closely related to the Shinto religion. Of course, initially, their value was purely practical – it was magical rites intended to ensure the well being of the community. Equally natural that in our days, to put it mildly, not all think about the deeper meaning of a holiday, and many perceive them simply as old traditions and a chance to celebrate together.

As for Hina Matsuri, in this day in ancient times was made a ritual of getting rid of diseases and misfortunes. Priests endured all sorts of trials and misfortunes on the little paper dolls that symbolized a boy and a girl. Then pupae – and all the troubles and misfortunes – were thrown into the nearest river or stream. Now this custom has been preserved only in very few parts of Japan, – for example, in Tottori Prefecture. There’s this ritual is not the 3rd of March and in early April – that is exactly according to the lunar calendar. On the banks of the river going girls, girls, their parents, the girls are dressed in bright festive kimono, and released into the river flat round wicker baskets, in which lies a pair of paper dolls. The pupa these are called nagashi-Bina dolls, lowered down the river.

The Hina – dolls, which are used during Hina Matsuri, – long paper does not make. Now these are real works of art from ceramics and silk finely painted and dressed in luxurious clothes, this metamorphosis has happened to them during their thousand-year history. It is believed that its widespread popularity and splendor of the holiday shall shogun Tokugawa Esimone (1677-1751), who had many daughters. It was then the custom to arrange “exhibition” of these dolls in houses where there are girls. The dolls put on a special stand, covered with bright red cloth and consisting of three, five or seven steps. On the top step – a pair of dolls representing the Emperor and Empress, giriama. Below – five musicians, each of them holding his musical instrument. Further – two bodyguards and three servants, and on the bottom shelf – miniature utensils: small kalodiki with drawers, dining serviziki, small flowering trees – cherry and tangerine, as well as – certainly – rice cake mochi diamond shape on painted supports. Such motie have relied on a girls holiday, the room where the exhibit of dolls, decorate; girls dressed in bright kimonos, and they visit each other’s homes. In General, a celebration of the soul. Dolls are in the house for about a month, but then again, Packed and put away until the next Holiday girls. Needless to say, all this luxury doll in brocade kimono and lacquered miniature utensils is absolutely not designed for games. By the way, there is a belief that if parents, through negligence or carelessness will not remove dolls on time, leave them too long, their daughter won’t marry.

Where do we get these wonderful dolls? Its supposed to give to girls at birth. Often they are inherited, and in some families dolls are stored almost since the 19th century. If this girl does not receive the inheritance, – the worse for the parents, they will have to fork out much. The price of even the most modest sets is often more than one hundred thousand yen (a thousand dollars), but it’s flowers, and the upper limit prices for Hina, it seems, simply does not exist (at least the sets for a million yen 10 thousand dollars – I had to see more than once). It is terrible to imagine what parents who have SEVERAL daughters. So to take a couple of dolls as a souvenir, you are unlikely. But it is a fact of life, and who will think about the prose, looking at the graceful colorful puppets, whose half-closed eyes seemed to flicker with a mysterious Eastern soul.

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